Professional stereotypes in interprofessional health care teams collaborating in long-term care facilities

The purpose of this study is to investigate the combined effects of healthcare professionals' hetero-stereotypes, auto-stereotypes and the content of stereotypes, as well as their interactions, on the perception of stereotypes about a profession, above and beyond sociodemographic characteristics.

A cross-sectional design was employed with a sample of physicians, nurses, dieticians and social workers working in 59 geriatric facilities. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire.

Competence had the most significant role in contributing to professional stereotypes, followed by warmth, while being a team player had the least impact (estimate = 0.01, p = 0.01; estimate = 0.29, p < 0.001; estimate = 0.19, p < 0.001). Hetero-stereotypes notably influenced perceived stereotypes (F[3, 2166] = 35.67, p < 0.0001). Auto-stereotypes also impacted perceived stereotypes, but this effect became non-significant when controlling for ethnicity and tenure. Hetero- and auto-stereotypes interacted significantly to affect perceived stereotypes (estimate = 0.38, p < 0.001).

Healthcare educators must already nurture dual identities in the early stages of students' professional identity formation by providing both nonprofessional and interprofessional education throughout their programs.

Existing models, typically encompass only competence/agency and warmth/communicative ability dimensions, neglecting a crucial aspect - being a team player. This additional dimension gauges a professional's ability to coordinate and lead teamwork within a specific profession. There is evidence of professional stereotypes among employed professional in health care. There is a combined impact of hetero-stereotypes (perceptions of other professions) and auto-stereotypes (internalized perceptions of one's own profession) on interprofessional interactions.